Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Wall Street Journal, a national newspaper, seems to be a Denver newspaper when it comes to sports coverage, especially about Tim Tebow. I mean, for the last several weeks, it seems they have featured on their one-page sports page more articles--or, certainly, more column inches--about Tim Tebow than all other sports figures combined. And Saturday was no different.

Mr. Tebow may indeed turn out to be a hypocrite, like other high-profile Christians in recent memory. Some of us might even want that to happen, because moral failure is something we understand. We know how to deal with disappointed expectations, to turn our songs of praise into condemnation.

What we are far less sure how to do is to take seriously a public figure's seemingly admirable character and professions of higher purpose. We don't know how to trust goodness.

And who can blame us? We don't want to be fooled again.

The one loss in Mr. Tebow's record as Denver's starting quarterback this season came in a 45-10 blowout against the Detroit Lions. Mr. Tebow completed just 46% of his passes. He suffered seven sacks, including one by Stephen Tulloch, after which Mr. Tulloch took a knee, "Tebowing" as Mr. Tebow struggled to rise.

When asked how he felt about Mr. Tulloch's mockery, Mr. Tebow responded, "He was probably just having fun and was excited he made a good play and had a sack. And good for him."

What?!? The guy is seeking to destroy you physically and, now, mentally, and you are able to respond in this way?!?

Clearly, Tebow has practiced, as Sarita said, "think[ing] the best" of his enemies or blessing those who curse him (Matthew 5:44).

And then the next two paragraphs from the same article:

Last week, after the Broncos' victory against Minnesota, Mr. Tebow was asked by a reporter to name something memorable that had been said to him in the wake of the extraordinary win.

"I'll tell you one thing that happened during the week that I remember," he said. Mr. Tebow proceeded to talk about spending time with a young leukemia patient from Florida who had just been transferred to hospice care and about how delighted Mr. Tebow was to say the kid's name on television and to let him know that someone cared.

The Wall Street Journal, a national newspaper, seems to be a Denver newspaper when it comes to sports coverage, especially about Tim Tebow. I mean, for the last several weeks, it seems they have featured on their one-page sports page more articles--or, certainly, more column inches--about Tim Tebow than all other sports figures combined. And Saturday was no different.

Mr. Tebow may indeed turn out to be a hypocrite, like other high-profile Christians in recent memory. Some of us might even want that to happen, because moral failure is something we understand. We know how to deal with disappointed expectations, to turn our songs of praise into condemnation.

What we are far less sure how to do is to take seriously a public figure's seemingly admirable character and professions of higher purpose. We don't know how to trust goodness.

And who can blame us? We don't want to be fooled again.

The one loss in Mr. Tebow's record as Denver's starting quarterback this season came in a 45-10 blowout against the Detroit Lions. Mr. Tebow completed just 46% of his passes. He suffered seven sacks, including one by Stephen Tulloch, after which Mr. Tulloch took a knee, "Tebowing" as Mr. Tebow struggled to rise.

When asked how he felt about Mr. Tulloch's mockery, Mr. Tebow responded, "He was probably just having fun and was excited he made a good play and had a sack. And good for him."

What?!? The guy is seeking to destroy you physically and, now, mentally, and you are able to respond in this way?!?

Clearly, Tebow has practiced, as Sarita said, "think[ing] the best" of his enemies or blessing those who curse him (Matthew 5:44).

And then the next two paragraphs from the same article:

Last week, after the Broncos' victory against Minnesota, Mr. Tebow was asked by a reporter to name something memorable that had been said to him in the wake of the extraordinary win.

"I'll tell you one thing that happened during the week that I remember," he said. Mr. Tebow proceeded to talk about spending time with a young leukemia patient from Florida who had just been transferred to hospice care and about how delighted Mr. Tebow was to say the kid's name on television and to let him know that someone cared.